University of Phoenix wants to help you earn credit for your expertise and life experience. By completing an Experiential Essay on an approved topic you may be able to earn college credits that can be applied to a bachelor or associate degree.

Before you begin, contact your academic advisor to confirm that you need elective credits that can be satisfied with credits earned from an experiential essay.

How to Write and Submit Your Essay

1. Select a preapproved topic from our essay list
2. Essays must be written and submitted in our essay template and follow these guidelines:
   • Written in the first person
   • Please use 12-point, Times New Roman font and double-space the document.
   • Essays must address the four sections of Kolb’s experiential learning model:
     1. Concrete experience
     2. Reflective observation
     3. Abstract conceptualization
     4. Active experimentation
   • The topic must represent your personal experience—not on history, research, observation or the experience of a third party. The essay should demonstrate a high level of expertise.
   • Download the Three Credit Essay Template
3. Submit a 1,500 to 2,100 autobiography written in the first person. If you are submitting more than one essay for credit, you will only need to submit one autobiography. Please use 12-point, Times New Roman font and double-space the document.
4. Submit supporting documentation along with your essay as evidence that your experience resulted in the level of expertise portrayed in your essay. Acceptable documents include: photocopies of licenses and certifications, letters on company letterhead with official signatures from employers, training providers and human resource representatives. Friends and family can also corroborate your knowledge or experience through letters of recommendation.
5. Complete the online application at “Student/Faculty Website”
   • After logging in, select the “Program” tab at the top of the page
   • Under “Credit Assessment Services” select “Prior Learning Assessment Center”
   • At the bottom of the page select “Submit Your Application online”

Earn Credits for What You Already Know

The Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) administers the Experiential Essay program and approves submitted essays for college credit. The program format is based on David Kolb’s experiential learning theory, which considers experience a source of learning. In his theory, Kolb cites four elements that prove experiential learning:

1. Concrete experience
2. Reflective observation
3. Abstract conceptualization (generalization)
4. Active experimentation (testing and application)

Please contact your academic advisor to confirm that you can apply experiential essay credits to your degree.

How Many Credits Can I Receive?

If your essay is approved, then it will be eligible for one, two or three credits. The number of eligible credits is determined by the length of the essay and how thoroughly the topic is covered (two, four or six subtopics).

Essay Credit Conversion Table

Review the Experiential Essay Credit Conversion page for more information. You can also study a sample essay that has received experiential essay credit.